A kiosk that moved with the times
The Locarno kiosk was much more than a small booth for the display and sale of goods. At various times throughout its almost 100-year history it was a newspaper kiosk, an information point for tourists seeking adventure and an internet café. All of which makes it a witness to economic and social change in all its facets.
Aaron Estermann
Aaron Estermann studied history, media studies and visual communication, and is curator for historical photography at the Swiss National Museum.
Nevertheless, small sales venues were still able to carve out a space for themselves in the increasingly crowded market around 1900. They tend to be somewhat overlooked by historians, even though their importance as part of people’s daily lives should not be underestimated. The kiosk is a perfect example. Architectonically speaking, the first kiosks were lightweight structures made of wood or iron and glass. As free-standing pieces of street furniture, they could be erected quickly on walkways, on squares or in parks. And they could be moved or removed just as quickly. It was due in no small part to this mobile, transitory quality that a fully preserved kiosk from Locarno found its way into the collection of the Swiss National Museum in 2011.
It is difficult to pin down exactly when the kiosk began trading in Locarno. A photo on a postcard dating from around 1910 shows it next to the Hotel Bahnhof and opposite the funicular that linked the town centre with the pilgrimage church of Madonna del Sasso from 1906. Typically for a kiosk, it therefore stood in a spot where a lot of passing trade could be expected, and in this case that included tourists. The sign in German and the goods on display show that the kiosk sold newspapers and other print material. This made it part of a burgeoning market for information, in which mass media both drummed up and pandered to the clientele’s growing interest in the latest news and entertainment.
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Giancarlo Cacciamognaga further recollects the typical assortment of goods that make any kiosk a place often associated with nostalgic memories of small moments of happiness and guilty pleasures. As well as newspapers, magazines and postcards, the kiosk stocked tobacco products like cigarettes and cigars. And, of course, sweets were also available. Chocolate and ice cream were particularly popular with Italian customers who came on boat trips to Locarno at weekends. And not forgetting the Swiss and Italian Sport-Toto, a form of modest betting that generated regular repeat custom. Because part of the thrill when placing their crosses on the coupon each time was not knowing whether they would soon be able to celebrate a big win.
